Netflix is looking to boost the reality of cloud computing via its OSS, taking it to the next level and helping it realize its potential. How is it doing this? Via its Netflix Cloud Prize competition, which it is using to challenge developers across the world to come up with improvements in secure, reliable, and usable, among other things. There are ten categories in total.

The contest opened to entries yesterday, and will last six months ending on September 15 of this year. When the contest closes to entries, a judging panel will select the winners and reveal them on October 16. The lucky winners will be given their awards at AWS Re:Invent in Las Vegas in November, all expenses paid.

As we mentioned, the contest is split into ten categories. Each category will have its own winner who will get $10,000 in cash and $5,000 in AWS credits, as well as a nifty trophy they can place on their respective mantles. You can check out the full list of rules and how to apply at Netflix's Github here.

Netflix's CPO Neil Hunt had this to say: "Cloud computing has become a hot topic recently, but the technology is still emerging. No doubt many of the key ideas that will take it to the next level have yet to be conceived, explored, and developed. The Netflix Cloud Prize is designed to improve understanding of what it takes to build native applications for the cloud that take full advantage of the opportunities for scalable computing."